On June 3-4, 1989, the Chinese government used the army to crush a peaceful mass protest centered in Tiananmen Square in Beijing that called for reform, killing an untold number of unarmed civilians, and suppressing the truth of its military crackdown even since. To support the calls for truth and accountability and to help preserve the evidence accumulated by victims’ families, HRIC has built an extensive documentation archive, in text, photos, and videos. The records include stories of how the victims lived and how they died; testimonies by family members of their arduous efforts to locate, connect with, and provide support to those afraid to speak out; and their sustained demands for truth, accountability, and compensation.

HRIC supports defenders and civil society actors—lawyers and rights activists and their families—by highlighting their cases and actions and amplifying their voices through statements, special campaigns, feature web sections, and translation.

HRIC actively engages with key international mechanisms, including UN treaty bodies, special procedures, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights—through civil society submissions, monitoring of China’s implementation of its international obligations; and provision of supplemental information. Through policy interventions before legislative bodies, statements and resources, HRIC informs diverse stakeholders on rights issues and developments.

To strengthen the capacity of civil society actors to exercise fundamental rights protected under international law and to inform key policymakers, HRIC monitors and produces practical resources on related domestic and international human rights law and policy developments. These resources include: compilation of bilingual charts of mainland Chinese and Hong Kong SAR laws that impact on the exercise of fundamental rights online and offline, white papers and law bulletins.

HRIC actively collaborates with other NGOs around the world—from global coalitions to individual groups focused on a wide range of rights-related issues. This work includes supporting joint statements, and cooperating on advocacy campaigns, and coordinating engagement with UN human rights mechanisms and participation in UN human rights processes.